A 56-year-old man is under arrest after being accused of capital sexual battery on a 6-year-old girl in Kissimmee, Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez said during a news conference Friday.
Wuiliam Gerardo Colmenares-Mendez, 56, from Venezuela, was arrested by Osceola Deputies after being identified by the victim as the suspect who molested her twice, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Lopez confirmed that Colmenares-Mendez had been renting a room in the same house where a mother and her daughter were also renting.
After seeing the suspect engaging with her 6-year-old daughter inappropriately, the victim’s mother decided to find a new place for them to live. That’s when the daughter told her mother that the man had grabbed her two different times, molesting her.
According to the Sheriff’s Office release, the first time the suspect grabbed the girl, he covered her mouth with one hand, then molested her with the other. The second time, Mr. Colmenares-Mendez molested the victim after he showed her pornographic images on his cellphone.
Sheriff Lopez said Colmenares-Mendez was in the country illegally from Venezuela, and has now been reported to ICE.
Colmenares-Mendez faces two counts of capital sexual battery – offender over 18 victim under 12, two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation – offender over 18 victim under 12, and showing obscene material to a minor, according to the news release.
“A lot of times victims are afraid to come forward because they’re afraid of being separated from their children. And we understand that. So you know, we want you to come forward, Sheriff Marcos Lopez said, referring to undocumented immigrants who are sometimes afraid to report crimes because of their immigration status.”
